David Krejci
| birth_place = Sternberk, Czechoslovakia | draft = 63rd overall | draft_year = 2004 | draft_team = Boston Bruins | career_start = 2007 }} David Krejci (born on April 28, 1986) is a Czech professional ice hockey center and alternate captain playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). David helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The team placed 7th overall. Playing Career David was the Boston Bruins' first pick in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft (63rd overall). He was drafted out of Czech junior leagues, having played for HC Kladno. Following his selection, David moved to North America to play major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Gatineau Olympiques for two seasons. In 2006-07, David turned pro, playing for the Bruins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins. On January 30, 2007, David played in his first NHL game in a 7–1 loss against the Buffalo Sabres, but he suffered a concussion from Buffalo's Adam Mair during his third shift. David recorded just 2:07 minutes of ice time. David played increasingly with Boston the following season, appearing in 56 NHL games to go with 25 games in Providence. On February 19, 2008, he was involved in a shootout tie-breaker round, in a Bruins road game against the Carolina Hurricanes and scored to help the Bruins take the shootout 2–1. However, David's shootout tally would not register as his first NHL goal as shootout goals do not count towards a player's statistical totals. A week later on February 26th, David scored his first official NHL goal against Martin Gerber of the Ottawa Senators, as the second Bruins goal in a 4–0 home-ice shutout. He finished his rookie NHL season with 6 goals and 27 points. In 2008–09, David scored his first NHL hat-trick on December 18, 2008 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He registered his first two goals against starter Vesa Toskala and his third against Curtis Joseph in an 8–5 Bruins win. Before a game on April 2, 2009, David was named the winner of the Boston Bruins' 2009 Seventh Player Award. The award is given annually to the player who "goes beyond the call of duty and exceeds all expectations" throughout the course of the season. During the game, David assisted on a goal by Milan Lucic (the 2008 winner of the Seventh Player Award) in a 2–1 home ice victory over the Ottawa Senators. David completed his second NHL season with 73 points in 82 games to go with a league-high +37 plus-minus rating, earning him the NHL Plus-Minus Award. In 2008-09, David had a career-high 73 points in the regular season. On June 2, 2009, he signed a multi-year contract with the Bruins, reportedly a three-year deal averaging $3.75 million a year. At the beginning of November of 2009, David was noticeably ill. On November 5th, he was diagnosed of an infection with the H1N1 virus, which sidelined him for a period of time. On May 5, 2010, during the playoffs, David dislocated his wrist less than five minutes into a game when he was leveled at the Bruins' blue line by Flyers center Mike Richards. Surgery was needed and was performed following the game at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore and David missed the remainder of the playoffs. On May 25, 2011, David recorded his second NHL career hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals during the Stanley Cup playoffs. David was the first Bruin to record a playoff hat trick since Cam Neely two decades prior. On June 15, 2011 David and the Bruins won the team's first Stanley Cup in 39 years, beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7. He finished the 2011 playoffs with a league-leading 12 goals, 23 points and 4 game-winning goals. David is known for his puck control and his playmaking ability from the pivot position for the Bruins. On March 1, 2012, he got his third career hat trick versus the New Jersey Devils. He scored goals in the first, third and overtime period in a 4-3 win. In the 4th game of the 2013 opening round playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, David scored a hat trick, including the game winner in overtime. On October 1, 2013, he was named assistant captain of the Bruins. On October 25, 2013, David scored a game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds left against the San Jose Sharks and goalie Antti Niemi. Career Statistics International Statistics Awards & Achievements *Won the Boston Bruins' Seventh Player Award in 2009. *Won the NHL Plus-Minus Award in 2009. *Won the 2011 Stanley Cup. *Golden Stick Award (2013) International Play }} After the Bruins' 2007–08 season ended, David was named to the Czech national team on April 26, 2008 for the 2008 IIHF World Championships. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, playing center on a line with wingers Tomas Fleischmann and Martin Erat to open the Games. Category:1986 births Category:Boston Bruins players Category:Boston Bruins draft picks Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:Providence Bruins players